WEBVTT

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- Hey, good morning
team, how are you doing?

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Major General Wilcox here.

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Shout out to the Atlas
Nation for the great

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last couple of weeks as we
work our way through COVID-19

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and everything that's going on.

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We decided to take a
field trip this morning.

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We did this Facebook Live event last week

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over from my office.

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And this morning, because we
got a lot of medical questions

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last week and virus questions,
we took a field trip.

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We took a smart field trip,

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and we're over at the 59th medical wing,

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which is the new Wilford
Hall Hospital on Lackland.

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And I'm sitting joined
today by my good friend,

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Major General John
DeGoes, Dr. John DeGoes.

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He's the senior medic here on JBSA.

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So we pulled him in and he
agreed to do this with us,

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so we could talk about the
things that are important

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to IMSC, but you could also ask questions

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and hear from the senior doc here at JBSA.

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So I just wanted to
start out by running down

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kind of where we are.

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We've actually seen an
improvement with the number

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of folks that we're monitoring
for the COVID-19 virus.

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We dropped this morning for
the first time in two weeks

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as, you know, two weeks
ago, spring break was on,

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so we were monitoring more folks.

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Today we actually saw a 10-person decrease

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in the number that we were monitoring,

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down to about 250, 260.

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And those with symptoms
have been cut in half.

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So great news for us there.

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I think our measures are starting to work.

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This is what the docs talk about.

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And this is why we're on telework.

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We do have that one positive that we have,

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but that person got it from
his reserve duty out of state.

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No time was that person
ever in the building

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or in contact with any
of the Atlas Nation.

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And that person is doing
remarkably well, too,

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very mild symptoms, and on
their way to recovery there.

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So we've been in telework
now, heavy telework,

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probably 90, 95% in
telework for the last week.

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We started two weeks ago.

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And that's working out.

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I'll talk a little bit
about that as we go through.

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But, you know, this is a
great way to communicate.

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So we're coming at you
live over at Wilford Hall.

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So Doc, do you want to
say a few opening remarks?

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Thanks for joining us today, man.

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- You bet, you bet, thank you.

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So good morning, good
afternoon, or good evening,

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wherever you are, the
Atlas Nation on the planet.

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Let me first start by saying
thank you for what you do

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for all Air Force and
military health system medics.

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We can't exist, really,
without first-class facilities,

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and thank you for doing that.

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The bottom line upfront, I think,

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from this COVID operation

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is to get mission-essential work done

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as safely as possible while
taking care of our people,

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their families, and the
communities in which you all live.

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And so COVID-19 or coronavirus,
it's the third coronavirus

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that's caused significant disease.

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The first one was SARS,

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and then there was the Middle
East Respiratory Coronavirus.

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This one, the problem with this one

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is it spreads very easily.

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On the positive side,
the majority of people

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who get infected with it
have had small symptoms.

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The downside to that is
you might not realize it.

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You might think it's just
kind of a minor thing.

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And because you're can-do
people, you drive through.

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And that's actually dangerous,

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because it can lead to increased spread.

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And there is a portion
of our working population

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and then the communities that we live

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that are especially susceptible to severe,

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and unfortunately, worse
than that, fatal at times,

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COVID disease.

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So the things that you're doing,

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the telework, the social distancing,

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the frequent handwashing,

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particularly before you
touch your face or your mouth

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or your nose, don't do
that with unwashed hands.

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Those things are working.

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We're seeing that, you know,
begin to bend the curve.

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What I would say to you is
we just had spring break

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in San Antonio, so a lot of our medics

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at Brooke Army Medical
Center and here at the 59th

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were also on cruises, skiing in Colorado,

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you know, visiting places that put them

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in kind of a 14-day quarantine.

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We're about to get 450 back as well.

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And so kind of the key thing
is as you reintegrate them

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is to don't let your guard down,

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is that maybe those of you

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that are going to be
mission-essential places

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where you can't telework

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and there's more people
in your duty section,

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you've got to redouble your efforts

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on appropriate social distancing.

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Cover your cough if you have one.

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Wash your hands frequently.

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Be very careful about touching the face.

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You know, foot bumps,
knee bumps, no handshakes,

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no hugs right now for the time being.

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So what should you do

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if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms?

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The problem is it's very much like

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a lot of other incredibly
common respiratory things.

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So it's not too different
from seasonal influenza.

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On the positive side,
we're one, April right now

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in the northern hemisphere
is when you start to see

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regular seasonal flu,

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and it's been a bad year
for seasonal flu, drop off.

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There's allergies now.

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General Wilcox lives next door to me

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and both of our houses are
coated in yellow pollen.

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And so a lot of people are
suffering with allergies

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right now, and some of
the symptoms are similar.

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And the common cold is
still incredibly common.

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So all of those may be confusing.

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You probably have not COVID,
but the symptoms are similar.

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And so where can you get information?

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So if you're a military health
system TRICARE beneficiary,

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there is a MHS or Military
Health System Nurse Advice Line,

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and the phone number is 1-800-TRICARE.

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I know the team here will
put that out on the line

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so that you can get
it, but 1-800-874-2273.

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If you're in San Antonio,

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we have a San Antonio Military

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COVID Nurse Advice Line as well.

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We'll put that number out there.

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You know, in Texas, there's
actually, if you dial 211,

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it'll take you, if you hit number six

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after you get through 211 in Texas,

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it'll take you to COVID
information if you need it.

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If you're a do-it-yourselfer,
you can go to CDC,

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which stands for Centers
for Disease Control

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.gov or G-O-V

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and look for coronavirus.

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And there is a self-symptom checker

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called the Coronavirus Self-Checker.

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You can put in your symptoms

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and it can give you some advice.

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So my advice to you is
because we want to keep you,

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our patients, and our staff safe,

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is that before you come
directly into an MTF,

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if it's not an emergency,

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if it's an emergency, come right in.

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Call an ambulance if you need it.

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But if it's not an emergency,
that you call first,

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because we would advise
you to put a mask on

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before you come into our facilities.

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Nearly all of the facilities
that you would go to,

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military or civilian,

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would have you put a mask
on before you come in.

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And you'd even go through what looks like

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an entry control point
to sort out sick people

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from those are just coming in
to an MTF for routine care.

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So I think I'll stop there,

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and then we'll take some questions.

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- No, that's perfect.

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I mean, General DeGoes
hit it right off the bat.

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You know, for the last month,

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as we've been building up to the posture

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that we were in, our number one priority,

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and my number one
priority, your commanders,

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the PSUs, your directorates,
your det commander,

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their number one priority is you.

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The installation
commanders that we live on

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across 77 installations
in nine, 10 MAJCOMs,

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the Space Force, their
number one priority is you.

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If we keep you safe, you
keep the mission going.

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We're mission-essential.

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Some people are having to go
into the building periodically

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to do some things.

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But I've been super proud of the team

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on being able to work through these issues

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so they don't have to
spend seven days a week,

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12 hours a day in the building.

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The Shared Services Center, for one,

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has done a fabulous job.

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You know, we've been
working pay through there.

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And where they thought
they'd have to be there

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two different week, all for two weeks,

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they've gotten that down
to five or six hours a day,

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you know, just going in to cut the checks.

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So we are figuring out how to do this.

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And these things will
help us in the long term.

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But I really wanna make
sure you and your families

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are doing good.

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It's tough to be telework and locked down

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in this stay-at-home work safe order,

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especially that we're
under here in San Antonio.

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The kids can't go out and play.

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A lot of the schools have
transitioned to online.

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You're trying to work at
home at the same time.

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You're balancing a lot of things.

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So you gotta take some time for yourself.

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If you watched my email message video

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that I put out on Facebook on Wednesday,

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I said, hey, take an
hour a day for yourself.

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If you got a spouse, swap off, you know,

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so the spouse can watch
the kids, you know.

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Try to get some of that time.

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Put the kids to bed early.

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Let the older kid watch the younger kids.

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Go for a walk, read a book.

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There's some things to do.

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Pick up the phone, call your
girlfriend, call your friend,

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call your boyfriend, call whoever.

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But just get some time
away from the virus.

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So you guys are doing remarkable things.

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I could talk for the
next 20 or 30 minutes.

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We kicked it off a little bit.

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But let's see what kind
of questions you have,

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because that's why we do it.

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So again, thanks, Doc
for joining us today.

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Ask medical questions.

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Ask questions about the Force.

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Ask questions about
what we're doing on JBSA

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or what we're doing across the enterprise.

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But let 'er fly.

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Mike, I think we got
some questions already,

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some advance questions.

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And I see some are coming in already.

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So lay it on us, brother.

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- [Mike] Yes, sir.

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So Dr. DeGoes, just to go
back to when you were talking

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about, you know, seasonal
allergies and COVID-19 symptoms

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and you gave some
reference points for that,

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and I think your PA team is online,

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helping us magnify that.

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I think it's Ms. Kiley
Kinzel, thank you, Kiley.

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Can you give a couple of examples

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of what would be primary
symptoms of one or the other?

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- Sure, so the most common
symptom in COVID is fever.

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And so as it's spread, we've
gotten better research.

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We still have more to
learn than what we know.

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But 90% of patients who have
COVID will have a fever.

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A few percent less than
that will have a dry cough.

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So fever and dry cough are
the two most common symptoms

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far and away.

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Those who are going to get
the more significant version,

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a few days after that fever and dry cough

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will develop some shortness of breath.

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And so that's, for me in
giving advice to patients,

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that's kind of a red line.

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So to give you an,

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we've had about 30 positive
lab tests for COVID,

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we do all the testing at
Brooke Army Medical Center,

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in the last week or 10 days.

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And to give you an order of magnitude,

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all but three of those
patients are at home

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just getting a phone call twice a day.

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But what we tell them is if you
begin to get short of breath

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don't wait, come back in,

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and we will reevaluate them,

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and if necessary, admit
them to the hospital.

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So fever, dry cough, shortness of breath

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would be the most common with COVID.

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You see more kind of
sneezing, itchy, watery eyes

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with cold, the common cold and allergy.

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They can happen with COVID,

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but fever, dry cough,
and the warning sign,

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shortness of breath.

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Great question, Mike.

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- Yeah, that was a good one.

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I mean, I've run into this problem, too,

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you know, when I go out
in PT in the morning.

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My times have been off
for the past two weeks.

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I was telling someone this
morning, my times are off.

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I'm running slower, you know.

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It seems like, you know,

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I'm not as strong as I am.

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But that's allergies.

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So listen to what the doc says.

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Go to that self-checker, you
know, and run through that,

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because there are a
lot of things competing

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with each other right
now at the same time.

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So great question.

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- [Mike] Okay, Dr. DeGoes,
as you were talking,

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we were starting to get some
more health questions come in.

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So we're going to intermingle
the ones we have in advance

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with what we're getting live.

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Someone had the question
about a prenatal appointment.

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Will someone go to houses
for blood work, et cetera,

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or is that on pause?

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- So prenatal care should continue.

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Let me just broaden it, too, to say that

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a lot of infectious diseases,

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where we're very concerned even
more so about the population

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that's pregnant or might be pregnant.

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And so like with flu, we really recommend

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everybody get an influenza
vaccine each year,

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but for pregnancy, in particular.

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And so prenatal visits,
we can arrange those.

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So most MTFs again, if you
call ahead for an appointment,

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when you come up from the parking lot,

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there will be someone that would vector

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a healthy person that's coming
for a routine follow-up,

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like somebody who has lung disease,

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we don't want them near where
the emergency department

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and sick people are that's
coming in for a routine.

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Same thing for prenatal care.

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Now, I can't speak for
other, you know, other MTFs.

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We have done some house calls here

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in the San Antonio Military Health System.

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They're typically on a case-by-case basis,

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'cause we are trying to
decrease foot traffic.

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So what I would do is

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if someone was about to become
pregnant, or is pregnant,

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for follow-up care, I'd
call your individual MTF,

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call your MTF's Nurse Advice Line,

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and arrange the safest way to
get the care that you need.

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Thank you, great question, Mike.

14:46.260 --> 14:47.880
- [Mike] Sir, an as a follow-up to that,

14:47.880 --> 14:49.723
can people go to the pharmacies on base

14:49.723 --> 14:52.750
to get their meds, or is that on lockdown?

14:52.750 --> 14:54.390
What's any LIMFACS?

14:54.390 --> 14:59.214
- Right, so each base is
going to be, you know,

14:59.214 --> 15:02.630
under the authority of
the local base commander

15:02.630 --> 15:03.610
or wing commander.

15:03.610 --> 15:07.090
And General Goldfein and
Secretary Barrett on down

15:07.090 --> 15:09.330
have tried to give maximum flexibility

15:09.330 --> 15:11.280
to our installation commanders,

15:11.280 --> 15:13.593
because the risk in certain communities

15:13.593 --> 15:16.370
is higher than other communities.

15:16.370 --> 15:20.170
And each wing commander
has made some health

15:20.170 --> 15:24.216
protection condition decisions
to protect the community

15:24.216 --> 15:27.544
while maximizing the benefit to folks,

15:27.544 --> 15:29.560
but keep the mission going.

15:29.560 --> 15:34.560
So on JBSA, we have a drive-thru
pharmacy operation at BAMC.

15:35.610 --> 15:37.720
And as General Wilcox
and I were walking in

15:37.720 --> 15:41.460
the building today, while you
saw that our operation inside

15:41.460 --> 15:44.280
the 59th medical wing,

15:44.280 --> 15:46.730
the standard pharmacy windows were open,

15:46.730 --> 15:50.180
we hope to have a fully
mission-capable drive-thru

15:50.180 --> 15:52.880
in front of the Wilford Hall
Ambulatory Surgery Center

15:52.880 --> 15:54.400
by close of business today.

15:54.400 --> 15:59.400
So each of your MTFs is gonna
have a different option.

15:59.946 --> 16:03.010
What we're trying to
do is to reduce touches

16:03.010 --> 16:06.220
as much as possible
and to get you the meds

16:06.220 --> 16:09.860
that you need without coming
into a crowded waiting room.

16:09.860 --> 16:11.130
So even in the waiting rooms,

16:11.130 --> 16:15.010
we're doing the social
distancing, six feet.

16:15.010 --> 16:18.520
So this disease, COVID,
is spread by droplets,

16:18.520 --> 16:20.210
small, microscopic droplets.

16:20.210 --> 16:22.370
You can't see them, but
they'll go in the air

16:22.370 --> 16:25.080
around a six-foot circle around you.

16:25.080 --> 16:29.720
So you increase your risk by
being in a six-foot circle

16:29.720 --> 16:34.200
of somebody who's coughing
or sick with increased time.

16:34.200 --> 16:37.422
So that's what's behind
the social distancing.

16:37.422 --> 16:41.790
So I just urge you all to be careful.

16:41.790 --> 16:44.976
And if you're capable of using it,

16:44.976 --> 16:49.431
TRICARE has a national mail order pharmacy

16:49.431 --> 16:53.263
that if you're active
duty, there's zero copays.

16:53.263 --> 16:57.352
If you're a retiree, the
copays are pretty modest.

16:57.352 --> 16:59.790
It's not zero.

16:59.790 --> 17:02.940
So get the medicines you
need, don't stop that.

17:02.940 --> 17:05.680
But try to do it as safely as possible.

17:05.680 --> 17:07.100
- [Mike] Thanks, sir.

17:07.100 --> 17:10.470
General Wilcox, I know
you're working with the team.

17:10.470 --> 17:11.740
We've got the CAF stood up.

17:11.740 --> 17:14.450
We're having daily meetings
about our response.

17:14.450 --> 17:17.630
And I know we're looking
at orderly return to work

17:17.630 --> 17:19.170
when that's able to happen.

17:19.170 --> 17:20.980
We have a question related to that,

17:20.980 --> 17:22.700
and a health concern involved with that.

17:22.700 --> 17:23.997
- Okay.

17:23.997 --> 17:25.840
- If the president directs
all personnel back to work,

17:25.840 --> 17:27.970
and the health experts
and officials disagree

17:27.970 --> 17:29.810
and believe that's too soon,

17:29.810 --> 17:33.300
what's our command, our
center prepared to do?

17:33.300 --> 17:37.070
The asker's concern is she or
he has a respiratory condition

17:37.070 --> 17:39.038
that could be more serious
if they were to contact

17:39.038 --> 17:40.974
the COVID-19 virus.

17:40.974 --> 17:43.460
Could that person provide
a doctor's statement

17:43.460 --> 17:45.160
to allow him or her to go back to work

17:45.160 --> 17:47.500
or work from home for
a long period of time?

17:47.500 --> 17:48.720
- That's a good question, Mike.

17:48.720 --> 17:51.440
There's a couple things in that question.

17:51.440 --> 17:54.360
Your safety still is
our number one priority.

17:54.360 --> 17:58.260
The Chief, the Secretary,
the MAJCOM commanders,

17:58.260 --> 18:02.720
you know, my priority remains your safety.

18:02.720 --> 18:05.404
We started transitioning
to telework before we,

18:05.404 --> 18:07.060
you know, on our own,

18:07.060 --> 18:10.600
because we can do a lot
of our work from telework.

18:10.600 --> 18:13.240
As long as we can continue
to get the mission done

18:13.240 --> 18:17.460
from telework, we'll stay in
a telework-type operation.

18:17.460 --> 18:19.664
We may have to start
bringing some folks back in

18:19.664 --> 18:23.800
to hit those touchpoints
on some of those systems

18:23.800 --> 18:25.030
that we can't do.

18:25.030 --> 18:27.150
Or if you've gotta give, you know,

18:27.150 --> 18:28.730
your computer has a problem,

18:28.730 --> 18:31.070
we'll have to do that
to facilitate telework.

18:31.070 --> 18:32.680
But we're not going to pull the trigger

18:32.680 --> 18:35.551
and bring everybody back into
the building all at one time,

18:35.551 --> 18:37.143
say next week.

18:37.143 --> 18:41.545
This will be an informed
decisions with inputs

18:41.545 --> 18:44.630
and a lot of recommendations
from the medical community

18:44.630 --> 18:46.220
on how we proceed.

18:46.220 --> 18:49.030
We're all tied in with that
all across the Air Force.

18:49.030 --> 18:51.240
The second piece of
that question has to do

18:51.240 --> 18:53.130
with the high-risk person.

18:53.130 --> 18:55.770
There are things and
measures that we can take

18:55.770 --> 18:57.670
for those high-risk persons.

18:57.670 --> 19:00.060
In fact, we were talking
about this this morning

19:00.060 --> 19:02.536
and some guidance just came out on it.

19:02.536 --> 19:04.584
If you are a high-risk person,

19:04.584 --> 19:07.132
you know, maybe because of age,

19:07.132 --> 19:11.760
or you know, autoimmune
or immune-deficient,

19:11.760 --> 19:13.130
or problems like that,

19:13.130 --> 19:15.250
there's a list that the CDC puts out,

19:15.250 --> 19:16.440
the doc can hit on this.

19:16.440 --> 19:18.415
There's a list that the CDC puts out

19:18.415 --> 19:23.415
that tentatively make you
more prone to catching COVID.

19:23.730 --> 19:25.900
If you fall into that category,

19:25.900 --> 19:28.860
your health and safety are
still our number one thing.

19:28.860 --> 19:33.050
And we have this leave called
weather and safety leave

19:33.050 --> 19:38.050
that we can put you on based
upon that higher likelihood

19:38.610 --> 19:42.220
that you could contract COVID-19.

19:42.220 --> 19:43.720
So by putting you on that leave,

19:43.720 --> 19:47.310
you're authorized to stay
home under those conditions.

19:47.310 --> 19:50.900
We're actually moving in AFMC

19:50.900 --> 19:53.070
to a self-certification for that.

19:53.070 --> 19:54.755
We haven't worked out the procedures,

19:54.755 --> 19:56.250
but in the next week,

19:56.250 --> 19:58.460
I think you'll see the procedures come out

19:58.460 --> 20:02.020
where you can self-certify that you have

20:02.020 --> 20:04.300
one of those medical
conditions that puts you

20:04.300 --> 20:05.610
at higher risk.

20:05.610 --> 20:07.970
And then within the next 90 days,

20:07.970 --> 20:12.090
follow up with something from the doc,

20:12.090 --> 20:13.740
whether that's a note from the doc,

20:13.740 --> 20:16.683
or you already got something
in your records from the doc.

20:16.683 --> 20:19.020
But you have 90 days to do it.

20:19.020 --> 20:21.170
And we don't want you to have
to come into the building

20:21.170 --> 20:24.270
to do that, you know, to put you at risk.

20:24.270 --> 20:26.540
So you'll be able to mail that in,

20:26.540 --> 20:27.910
electronically send it in.

20:27.910 --> 20:31.180
We'll have to work through
the HIPAA parts of that.

20:31.180 --> 20:33.680
But if a doc sends this and says,

20:33.680 --> 20:36.370
hey, you're high-risk based on CDC,

20:36.370 --> 20:40.810
I don't need to know what
specific condition you have.

20:40.810 --> 20:43.730
But there's ways that we can
work that self-certification.

20:43.730 --> 20:44.900
So that's a great question.

20:44.900 --> 20:47.340
We're actually in the middle
of working through that.

20:47.340 --> 20:49.353
We got some guidance
down from the Air Force.

20:49.353 --> 20:51.560
We're working with AFMC.

20:51.560 --> 20:53.640
And we'll work with General Lenderman,

20:53.640 --> 20:56.990
who is the installation
commander here at JBSA,

20:56.990 --> 20:59.370
and your installation if
you're somewhere else.

20:59.370 --> 21:01.790
We'll work on how to localize that.

21:01.790 --> 21:03.700
But we're thinking through that problem,

21:03.700 --> 21:05.060
and we got the solution.

21:05.060 --> 21:06.974
We just gotta work the details.

21:06.974 --> 21:08.470
Rob Jackson's here.

21:08.470 --> 21:10.430
Rob, you got anything
you want to add on that,

21:10.430 --> 21:14.050
or fix, correct something
that I might have screwed up?

21:14.050 --> 21:16.371
- [Rob] I say good comment, sir, on that.

21:16.371 --> 21:17.808
I just want to clarify

21:17.808 --> 21:20.680
that when we're talking about
those high-risk individuals

21:20.680 --> 21:24.510
and identifying those
personnel that are eligible

21:24.510 --> 21:27.360
for the weather and
safety leave immediately,

21:27.360 --> 21:30.976
those are going to be our
non-telework-eligible folks first.

21:30.976 --> 21:31.809
- Right.

21:31.809 --> 21:33.730
- [Rob] So just wanted to clarify that.

21:33.730 --> 21:36.540
And like you said, Boss,
you know, telework is work.

21:36.540 --> 21:40.180
So if the president does
order us back to work

21:40.180 --> 21:42.750
to some degree, as long as
they're telework-eligible

21:42.750 --> 21:43.880
and they're performing that work,

21:43.880 --> 21:47.030
then we are cleared hot and
still get the mission done.

21:47.030 --> 21:49.780
- Right, our whole goal was
to try to flatten that curve

21:49.780 --> 21:52.826
and not get a big spike
across the enterprise.

21:52.826 --> 21:55.110
The doc can talk this better,

21:55.110 --> 21:57.840
but if you listen to the
national authorities,

21:57.840 --> 22:01.580
this is a 12 to 18-month
run with peaks and valleys,

22:01.580 --> 22:02.670
they're gonna go through it.

22:02.670 --> 22:06.020
So we're gonna have to make
sure that we take care of you

22:06.020 --> 22:08.110
and that we can still
take care of the mission,

22:08.110 --> 22:09.223
because in the end,

22:11.210 --> 22:13.460
our nation's military
and being able to perform

22:13.460 --> 22:16.420
those missions, both CONUS and OCONUS,

22:16.420 --> 22:18.220
is a top priority.

22:18.220 --> 22:19.880
Doc, you want to add something that that?

22:19.880 --> 22:21.857
- You hit it right there, you got it.

22:21.857 --> 22:23.690
- [Mike] Well, we do have
a follow-up, Dr. DeGoes.

22:23.690 --> 22:25.680
- All right, there you
go, they love you, Doc.

22:25.680 --> 22:28.290
- [Mike] What if the high-risk
person is in your house

22:28.290 --> 22:30.730
but not the employee,
like someone, a child,

22:30.730 --> 22:32.380
or a relative you're caring for?

22:32.380 --> 22:34.720
- Sure, that's a great question, Mike.

22:34.720 --> 22:39.640
And so again, that CDC.gov website

22:39.640 --> 22:41.560
has everything for coronavirus.

22:41.560 --> 22:43.340
It has sections that are for,

22:43.340 --> 22:45.040
I'm an internal medicine physician,

22:45.040 --> 22:48.120
and for infectious disease specialists.

22:48.120 --> 22:52.010
But it also has it for non-medical people.

22:52.010 --> 22:54.340
So what the advice would be,

22:54.340 --> 22:59.120
if you are one of our 25
patients that we sent home

22:59.120 --> 23:02.050
with COVID, we recommend that you go

23:02.050 --> 23:05.870
into a part of the house that
we would call the sick room.

23:05.870 --> 23:07.710
And you try to stay in there,

23:07.710 --> 23:11.730
away from the other non-infected
people in the house.

23:11.730 --> 23:14.370
So in my, if it was my house

23:14.370 --> 23:17.190
and I had someone who had increased risk,

23:17.190 --> 23:22.190
I would keep them away from
where the greater risk is.

23:22.480 --> 23:25.616
And so I would say, if you
don't have someone COVID

23:25.616 --> 23:29.890
in the house, that's good,
that's the greatest risk.

23:29.890 --> 23:32.679
But if you have a member,
like let's say one of you

23:32.679 --> 23:36.140
that's going to work
because you have to go,

23:36.140 --> 23:37.720
you're part of the mission-essential

23:37.720 --> 23:39.653
and you want to do it,

23:41.390 --> 23:44.900
when you go home, I would
keep that six-foot distance

23:44.900 --> 23:47.240
and try not to, you know,

23:47.240 --> 23:49.770
it's not the time for hugs,
handshakes, et cetera,

23:49.770 --> 23:52.703
and I would reduce your
interaction with that person

23:52.703 --> 23:55.470
who's at higher risk.

23:55.470 --> 23:58.090
So those would be the kind of things,

23:58.090 --> 24:01.460
the social distancing, and then, you know,

24:01.460 --> 24:04.100
really compulsive handwashing,

24:04.100 --> 24:07.080
coughing into a sleeve,
those kind of things,

24:07.080 --> 24:09.760
to prevent you from,

24:09.760 --> 24:12.270
you that's going out into
the world a little bit more

24:12.270 --> 24:15.100
and could potentially bump into COVID

24:15.100 --> 24:17.610
from inadvertently
bringing it into the home

24:17.610 --> 24:19.390
and then, you know,

24:19.390 --> 24:22.423
giving it to the person
who's at more risk.

24:23.580 --> 24:25.410
- [Mike] Okay, sir, we
have several questions

24:25.410 --> 24:26.243
about testing.

24:26.243 --> 24:27.210
That's very popular in the news.

24:27.210 --> 24:29.010
I know there's been
some concern about that.

24:29.010 --> 24:30.800
If you don't mind, let's
just go through those

24:30.800 --> 24:32.330
right in a row.

24:32.330 --> 24:36.070
Do you see any plans for
mass testing at some point,

24:36.070 --> 24:37.550
either here, or what you're hearing

24:37.550 --> 24:39.500
in other communities and areas?

24:39.500 --> 24:42.461
- Yeah, so what I would say is,

24:42.461 --> 24:45.060
you know, I think the nation as a whole,

24:45.060 --> 24:47.770
if you've read the news,
we were a little slow

24:47.770 --> 24:48.920
in rolling out the tests.

24:48.920 --> 24:51.150
There were some technological
and logistics things

24:51.150 --> 24:52.400
with getting it out.

24:52.400 --> 24:55.931
But there's pretty plentiful supplies

24:55.931 --> 24:58.594
in most areas of the country now.

24:58.594 --> 25:01.550
I follow that number five times a day.

25:01.550 --> 25:05.569
Here for Sam HS, we have
2,500 test kits available.

25:05.569 --> 25:09.977
We have the ability to do
200 tests in a day at BAMC.

25:09.977 --> 25:13.860
And that will go up further next week.

25:13.860 --> 25:16.020
We're doing the current
best test available,

25:16.020 --> 25:18.400
but next week we hope to get on a test

25:18.400 --> 25:20.990
that's state-of-the-art,
just recently FDA-approved

25:20.990 --> 25:23.720
that will take the time
from six to eight hours

25:23.720 --> 25:25.940
down to 45 minutes.

25:25.940 --> 25:29.182
So it will allow us to kind
of reduce the uncertainty

25:29.182 --> 25:31.620
that we sometimes have.

25:31.620 --> 25:34.020
We send a person home,
say we'll call you later,

25:34.020 --> 25:36.860
and they're sitting on
eggshells as you would expect.

25:36.860 --> 25:38.623
So mass testing,

25:41.770 --> 25:46.050
there is no indication
to test normal people.

25:46.050 --> 25:48.560
And we get that question a lot.

25:48.560 --> 25:50.960
I've had the opportunity to interact

25:50.960 --> 25:55.960
with a lot of Centers for
Disease Control world experts,

25:55.960 --> 25:59.496
because we've hosted a couple
of Health and Human Services

25:59.496 --> 26:03.060
cruise ship folks on Lackland here.

26:03.060 --> 26:05.927
So that's brought some of
the world experts here.

26:05.927 --> 26:08.610
The problem with testing someone

26:08.610 --> 26:11.570
who's currently got no symptoms is

26:11.570 --> 26:14.960
you would potentially have
a false sense of security,

26:14.960 --> 26:19.000
because the test cannot be positive,

26:19.000 --> 26:22.270
typically, until you've
begun to have symptoms.

26:22.270 --> 26:25.140
And so the symptoms
usually correlate with you

26:25.140 --> 26:27.270
having enough of the virus.

26:27.270 --> 26:30.070
So you can imagine on like Day Zero,

26:30.070 --> 26:31.530
you have a little bit,

26:31.530 --> 26:33.770
and then by about Day Four or Five,

26:33.770 --> 26:38.300
you've got enough to where
it makes the test positive.

26:38.300 --> 26:41.920
So really, at this point, there's no role

26:41.920 --> 26:45.350
for mass testing people without symptoms.

26:45.350 --> 26:47.100
- [Mike] And is there some type of,

26:47.100 --> 26:49.810
we have a question about
whether it's a fever-related.

26:49.810 --> 26:51.500
I mean, do you have to
have a certain fever

26:51.500 --> 26:53.412
in order to qualify for the test?

26:53.412 --> 26:56.180
They're saying 104 or higher.

26:56.180 --> 26:58.430
That seems high to me,
but you're the doctor.

26:58.430 --> 27:03.430
So 100.4 is typically a fever,

27:04.150 --> 27:06.540
100.4.

27:06.540 --> 27:08.100
So either a fever,

27:08.100 --> 27:11.220
in San Antonio, because it's
circulating in the community,

27:11.220 --> 27:12.860
as of yesterday afternoon,

27:12.860 --> 27:15.810
I speak with the San Antonio
Metro Health District,

27:15.810 --> 27:18.970
or my folks do, on multiple times of day,

27:18.970 --> 27:21.880
there were probably 75 or 80 cases.

27:21.880 --> 27:23.850
Maybe half of those were travel-related.

27:23.850 --> 27:26.900
People went skiing in
Colorado, visiting New York,

27:26.900 --> 27:28.160
came back, became positive.

27:28.160 --> 27:32.060
But half of them, it's
circulating in the community.

27:32.060 --> 27:35.970
And so when it's circulating
in the community,

27:35.970 --> 27:39.605
you just need either a fever or cough

27:39.605 --> 27:42.660
to qualify for a test.

27:42.660 --> 27:47.300
And we ask enough questions
such that if you're coughing

27:47.300 --> 27:51.260
and you don't have a fever and it doesn't,

27:51.260 --> 27:53.490
you don't have a chronic
cough, we're going to test you.

27:53.490 --> 27:55.323
And then again,

27:56.275 --> 27:58.570
you have to be able to make a fever.

27:58.570 --> 28:01.290
And so if you've been taking
Motrin around the clock,

28:01.290 --> 28:03.880
you probably don't have a fever.

28:03.880 --> 28:08.470
And so, you know, just
we put that into kind of

28:08.470 --> 28:10.030
our overall evaluation.

28:10.030 --> 28:13.270
So there could be a case
where someone has a mild cough

28:13.270 --> 28:15.130
and their temperature's 99.9,

28:15.130 --> 28:18.460
but they just took 800
milligrams of ibuprofen.

28:18.460 --> 28:19.660
We're going to test you.

28:19.660 --> 28:21.480
So we're going to put everything together

28:21.480 --> 28:24.410
to make the best decision
for you and your family

28:24.410 --> 28:26.610
and our community and our mission.

28:26.610 --> 28:27.771
- [Mike] Thanks, sir.

28:27.771 --> 28:29.450
And final test question,
how reliable is the test?

28:29.450 --> 28:32.110
Are there any issues with
false negatives or positives?

28:32.110 --> 28:34.670
- Yeah, so that's a really good question.

28:34.670 --> 28:39.670
And one of the reasons why
there was some initial slowness

28:40.500 --> 28:43.680
in rolling out and the
CDC embargoed some tests

28:43.680 --> 28:47.556
was there were some quality issues

28:47.556 --> 28:52.030
back in the end of January,
first couple days of February.

28:52.030 --> 28:54.560
Those had been since resolved.

28:54.560 --> 28:58.940
And so there's a very high
predictive value of the tests.

28:58.940 --> 29:01.160
In other words, if you're normal,

29:01.160 --> 29:04.456
it's very, very high, you know,

29:04.456 --> 29:08.670
well above 95% that if you're normal,

29:08.670 --> 29:10.170
the test will be normal.

29:10.170 --> 29:11.840
And if you have COVID,

29:11.840 --> 29:14.280
the test will show positive for COVID.

29:14.280 --> 29:17.050
So it's a very, very reliable test.

29:17.050 --> 29:20.174
And in fact, if we are
concerned, so concerned,

29:20.174 --> 29:23.040
because maybe you're in
that risk population,

29:23.040 --> 29:27.290
and we do the test on
you and it's negative,

29:27.290 --> 29:29.650
in some cases, we've actually repeated it

29:29.650 --> 29:33.840
to be certain, because the
risk is so great to miss it.

29:33.840 --> 29:36.770
So we're not just following a cookbook.

29:36.770 --> 29:40.140
We're keeping our doctor,
nurse thinking caps on.

29:40.140 --> 29:41.740
- [Mike] Thank you, sir.

29:41.740 --> 29:44.030
We'll let you rest your vocal
cords for a few minutes.

29:44.030 --> 29:45.433
That was a good run.
- Those were great questions,

29:45.433 --> 29:46.830
though, great questions.

29:46.830 --> 29:48.700
Keep them coming, gang.

29:48.700 --> 29:50.613
- [Mike] Sir, General Wilcox, sir,

29:51.620 --> 29:53.700
here's a question we got in advance.

29:53.700 --> 29:56.340
From my perspective, the
coronavirus is a catalyst,

29:56.340 --> 29:58.631
not only to illness, but for change.

29:58.631 --> 30:01.850
Will this be a catalyst for
change in workplace guidance

30:01.850 --> 30:04.540
to incorporate more
long-term work policies

30:04.540 --> 30:08.760
in the near future, that is,
more flexible work strategies?

30:08.760 --> 30:11.750
Also, better workplace
standards as it applies

30:11.750 --> 30:13.364
to any other infections diseases

30:13.364 --> 30:16.920
and better emergency
preparedness standards?

30:16.920 --> 30:18.990
- Well, there's about four
things in that question.

30:18.990 --> 30:21.263
But I think yes.

30:22.250 --> 30:27.060
You know, we authorized
telework, flex schedule,

30:27.060 --> 30:30.070
all of that across the IMSE enterprise,

30:30.070 --> 30:32.810
you know, shortly after I
arrived back in the fall.

30:32.810 --> 30:34.910
A lot of people were moving there.

30:34.910 --> 30:37.590
But, you know, telework is a new thing.

30:37.590 --> 30:39.540
It's a new thing for individuals.

30:39.540 --> 30:41.960
It's a new thing for supervisors.

30:41.960 --> 30:44.540
Some people don't have
wifi at their house.

30:44.540 --> 30:48.120
Some people don't have the
capability to telework today.

30:48.120 --> 30:50.960
Some people don't feel
comfortable teleworking

30:50.960 --> 30:52.090
or have never done it.

30:52.090 --> 30:55.370
Some people just like coming
to their cube every day,

30:55.370 --> 30:58.030
you know, so they can high
five the person next to them.

30:58.030 --> 31:02.330
I think this telework
is, and the flex time

31:02.330 --> 31:03.820
and everything that we're doing now,

31:03.820 --> 31:06.000
working through the problems,

31:06.000 --> 31:09.580
I would like to see a lot of that continue

31:09.580 --> 31:11.130
as we go down the line.

31:11.130 --> 31:15.200
We had people at IMSC that
could not telework before.

31:15.200 --> 31:17.350
We have solved a lot of those problems,

31:17.350 --> 31:19.450
and they can telework today.

31:19.450 --> 31:20.810
By the time we come out of this,

31:20.810 --> 31:24.080
people are going to feel more
comfortable with teleworking.

31:24.080 --> 31:25.720
I think as an Air Force,

31:25.720 --> 31:28.960
we're jumping on a lot of the problems.

31:28.960 --> 31:33.960
VPN access has been upped
to over 240,000 VPN points,

31:35.510 --> 31:38.230
and they're still increasing it every day.

31:38.230 --> 31:41.930
This is looking at how do we
increase the call-in lines.

31:41.930 --> 31:44.190
We're using Microsoft Teams.

31:44.190 --> 31:46.370
If people don't know
what Microsoft Teams are,

31:46.370 --> 31:50.670
we hosted a meeting,
meetings this week online

31:50.670 --> 31:53.290
from everybody at home in
their telework location,

31:53.290 --> 31:56.100
pushed the slides on VPN,

31:56.100 --> 31:58.815
and we're able to do that
and have a discussion

31:58.815 --> 32:02.540
between 15 different
people at their house.

32:02.540 --> 32:05.120
This morning, we had
over 50 people call in

32:05.120 --> 32:09.690
on our Microsoft Teams piece,

32:09.690 --> 32:11.650
and we had a morning meeting.

32:11.650 --> 32:15.050
So yes, I think we're
advancing this every day,

32:15.050 --> 32:17.680
the Air Force is advancing it every day.

32:17.680 --> 32:22.410
The doc can talk about how
they're doing medical care online

32:22.410 --> 32:24.936
and do telework, and I'll
throw it to him in a minute

32:24.936 --> 32:26.520
on how we're doing that.

32:26.520 --> 32:29.880
The emergency management piece, for sure.

32:29.880 --> 32:31.950
I think as a center, you know,

32:31.950 --> 32:34.470
being a toddler, 3 1/2 years old,

32:34.470 --> 32:38.375
our number one contingency
planning response

32:38.375 --> 32:41.880
was how do we get
through hurricane season.

32:41.880 --> 32:45.260
What does that hurricane
season look like from a CAT

32:45.260 --> 32:49.780
where we support the
MAJCOMs or a local shutdown,

32:49.780 --> 32:51.320
you know, for a day or two,

32:51.320 --> 32:54.730
an accident, a power
outage, a sewer line breaks,

32:54.730 --> 32:57.880
what does that continuity
of operations look like?

32:57.880 --> 33:02.450
Now we're looking at, you
know, 30, 60, 90 days,

33:02.450 --> 33:05.010
and we're adjusting our
procedures and building

33:05.010 --> 33:10.010
those things in for a pandemic
or a long-term operation.

33:10.092 --> 33:12.880
The CAT is working on checklists

33:12.880 --> 33:15.020
and templates and documents.

33:15.020 --> 33:18.770
We're tagging in clauses
to our cleaning contracts.

33:18.770 --> 33:22.330
So I think the whole emergency
management piece of this,

33:22.330 --> 33:27.150
at the same time, is growing,
and growing across the force.

33:27.150 --> 33:29.900
I mean, I had heard what
an HPCON was, right,

33:29.900 --> 33:31.670
health protection condition.

33:31.670 --> 33:33.960
But nobody was as well-versed

33:33.960 --> 33:36.737
on what a forced protection condition was.

33:36.737 --> 33:40.990
And the same thing happened
after 1996, Khobar Towers,

33:40.990 --> 33:43.230
and we have matured that program.

33:43.230 --> 33:46.670
So we have checklists for
health protection conditions now

33:46.670 --> 33:49.090
in ISMC that we have been working on.

33:49.090 --> 33:50.810
We have orderly shutdown.

33:50.810 --> 33:54.160
All of this is part of those
emergency management pieces

33:54.160 --> 33:55.382
that we have been working
that will carry through

33:55.382 --> 33:57.510
to our plans.

33:57.510 --> 34:01.950
But I would ask everybody,
keep a list of lessons learned.

34:01.950 --> 34:03.932
Keep a list of those stumbling blocks

34:03.932 --> 34:05.860
that we came across,

34:05.860 --> 34:07.525
because we will collect these

34:07.525 --> 34:10.850
and start working through
these as we come back

34:10.850 --> 34:13.120
into the building, as
we have more bandwidth,

34:13.120 --> 34:15.300
as our technology can handle it,

34:15.300 --> 34:17.020
we'll start correcting these,

34:17.020 --> 34:19.640
building them in to even longer terms.

34:19.640 --> 34:21.510
So we are learning a ton of lessons

34:21.510 --> 34:23.870
and we do not want to let that go.

34:23.870 --> 34:26.700
So Doc, I know you all have
made a lot of advancements

34:26.700 --> 34:29.190
in the technology and telework world also.

34:29.190 --> 34:30.560
- Right, absolutely.

34:30.560 --> 34:33.480
I think it was Winston
Churchill in World War II

34:33.480 --> 34:35.870
that said, "Never let a
good crisis go to waste."

34:35.870 --> 34:40.870
And so we've rapidly fielded
virtual health technology.

34:41.370 --> 34:46.110
So probably 70 of our docs
just here at Wilford Hall

34:46.110 --> 34:49.580
and double that at BAMC are
now working from their home

34:49.580 --> 34:53.700
with Adobe Connect, having video
chat appointments with you.

34:53.700 --> 34:56.997
I think you're going to see,
after we get through this,

34:56.997 --> 35:01.370
perhaps, you know, a
new era of more kind of

35:01.370 --> 35:03.310
get your healthcare when you want it,

35:03.310 --> 35:04.433
where you want it,

35:05.633 --> 35:08.220
and through whom you
want it in various ways,

35:08.220 --> 35:10.990
not having to go to brick
and mortar facilities

35:10.990 --> 35:11.823
in the future.

35:11.823 --> 35:13.780
And so we're trying to take advantage

35:13.780 --> 35:18.120
of these difficult times
to much more rapidly evolve

35:18.120 --> 35:20.980
in field advances.

35:20.980 --> 35:22.490
The other thing I would just say is

35:22.490 --> 35:24.220
my job before coming here

35:24.220 --> 35:28.219
was I was a NORAD USNORTHCOM
surgeon during Ebola.

35:28.219 --> 35:31.960
And one of the reasons that
Americans' healthcare system

35:31.960 --> 35:35.080
is better prepared today is we learned

35:35.080 --> 35:38.630
we weren't so prepared just
for a couple of Ebola cases

35:38.630 --> 35:41.900
back in the fall and early part of 2015.

35:41.900 --> 35:45.970
And so some Ebola money funded

35:45.970 --> 35:49.000
a national hospital preparedness program.

35:49.000 --> 35:52.850
So most of our American hospitals now are

35:52.850 --> 35:57.850
much better prepared to deal
with an infectious epidemic,

35:57.880 --> 35:59.980
or, you know, in this case, a pandemic.

35:59.980 --> 36:03.060
So learning those lessons
I think is critical

36:03.060 --> 36:05.850
in medical and in your
career fields as well.

36:05.850 --> 36:08.990
- Right, so Doc, for that telework

36:08.990 --> 36:10.770
or video chat with the doctor,

36:10.770 --> 36:12.230
they still call the appointment line

36:12.230 --> 36:15.240
to set up an appointment, and
then that's how that works?

36:15.240 --> 36:16.972
- Yeah.
- That's cool.

36:16.972 --> 36:18.860
- So in San Antonio, it's CAMO,

36:18.860 --> 36:21.630
Centralized Appointment
Management Operation.

36:21.630 --> 36:24.583
And they can book you, if required,

36:24.583 --> 36:28.470
into a regular face-to-face visit.

36:28.470 --> 36:32.890
Or they can book you
into a telehealth visit.

36:32.890 --> 36:36.160
And actually, our access to care,

36:36.160 --> 36:37.750
in other words, when you call today,

36:37.750 --> 36:40.465
how many appointments
are open to be same day

36:40.465 --> 36:45.290
is double what it was three
months ago, pre-COVID time.

36:45.290 --> 36:47.420
So we've adjusted with it.

36:47.420 --> 36:49.800
Sure, some of the demand has gone down.

36:49.800 --> 36:53.900
But we've found ways to
deliver access to care for you

36:53.900 --> 36:55.510
in different ways.

36:55.510 --> 36:57.750
- So again, call the
same appointment number

36:57.750 --> 36:58.583
if you're at JBSA.

36:58.583 --> 37:01.280
If you're at a different location
at one of the other bases,

37:01.280 --> 37:04.170
check with that local
MTF or call that number

37:04.170 --> 37:07.457
and ask them if you can
get a video consult.

37:07.457 --> 37:10.253
So that's great, Doc, love it.

37:11.744 --> 37:13.170
- [Mike] Dr. DeGoes, you
mentioned a little while ago

37:13.170 --> 37:16.490
about someone symptomatic,
or not symptomatic,

37:16.490 --> 37:18.863
coming in and if they've
been taking ibuprofen,

37:18.863 --> 37:21.370
that they might not pop with a fever.

37:21.370 --> 37:23.874
We have two questions about this.

37:23.874 --> 37:28.030
Taking ibuprofen is picking up bad press.

37:28.030 --> 37:29.830
Are med folks tracking that,

37:29.830 --> 37:32.493
and can you confirm it's
safe to take ibuprofen?

37:33.370 --> 37:37.960
- So it is, for the vast majority of us

37:37.960 --> 37:39.850
that don't have an allergy

37:39.850 --> 37:44.850
to over-the-counter
anti-inflammatories, it is safe.

37:45.340 --> 37:47.330
But I'm an internal medicine doc,

37:47.330 --> 37:51.770
and too much of anything
even safe can be damaging.

37:51.770 --> 37:56.010
There are some patients that
medicines like ibuprofen,

37:56.010 --> 38:00.900
Aleve, those can cause
ulcers in some patients,

38:00.900 --> 38:02.514
or stomach irritation.

38:02.514 --> 38:07.233
Heavy use for long periods of
time can cause kidney issues.

38:07.233 --> 38:10.240
And there are a certain
populations of people

38:10.240 --> 38:13.140
that are a little more
susceptible to those.

38:13.140 --> 38:16.450
But for normal, otherwise healthy people,

38:16.450 --> 38:21.450
an occasional use as needed
of an anti-inflammatory,

38:21.630 --> 38:25.260
following the directions on
the over-the-counter box,

38:25.260 --> 38:29.650
which has a few warnings, is very safe.

38:29.650 --> 38:33.360
But if you're having to use it frequently,

38:33.360 --> 38:35.160
like you're going to your local drugstore

38:35.160 --> 38:39.410
and buying another bottle of 60 or 120,

38:39.410 --> 38:41.470
or you go to a big box store and you buy

38:41.470 --> 38:43.640
the 500 giant economy size

38:43.640 --> 38:45.620
and you're going through those regularly,

38:45.620 --> 38:48.951
you should talk to your doctor
or your healthcare provider

38:48.951 --> 38:53.951
and make sure that the problem
that you're taking it for

38:53.980 --> 38:56.770
is well-treated and that
it isn't causing you

38:56.770 --> 38:58.360
any side effects.

38:58.360 --> 38:59.730
Great question.

38:59.730 --> 39:00.563
- [Mike] As a follow-up sir,

39:00.563 --> 39:02.730
so for people who are going out

39:02.730 --> 39:05.080
and picking up things they need,

39:05.080 --> 39:07.420
should they wear gloves when shopping?

39:07.420 --> 39:10.330
This person asking this question said

39:10.330 --> 39:13.790
they heard it isn't a good
idea to be wearing gloves out.

39:13.790 --> 39:17.150
- So again, I call that the
false sense of security.

39:17.150 --> 39:21.790
So I just read this on a CDC thing today.

39:21.790 --> 39:24.833
It shows somebody with those
like yellow dishwashing gloves.

39:24.833 --> 39:29.100
The problem is that you
still may touch something

39:29.100 --> 39:31.080
and then you touch your
face with those gloves,

39:31.080 --> 39:36.080
the COVID-infected droplet
which can last on this table,

39:36.089 --> 39:39.520
three hours, maybe in
the right circumstances

39:39.520 --> 39:40.570
with the right temperature

39:40.570 --> 39:43.670
and humidity and surface
as much as 24 hours,

39:43.670 --> 39:47.070
and some research says
in extreme situations

39:47.070 --> 39:49.480
could be 48 or even 72 hours.

39:49.480 --> 39:52.280
Not typically, typically
it's about three hours.

39:52.280 --> 39:55.072
But you touch that and you got gloves on,

39:55.072 --> 39:59.020
you're much better off
just washing your hands.

39:59.020 --> 39:59.960
Once you touch,

39:59.960 --> 40:03.220
you go out to the
commissary, you go to HEB

40:03.220 --> 40:05.780
to get groceries, or wherever
you're going to get them,

40:05.780 --> 40:08.430
you're going to touch
commonly touched items

40:08.430 --> 40:11.250
that literally hundreds
or thousands of people,

40:11.250 --> 40:14.630
door handles, shopping
cart kind of things.

40:14.630 --> 40:18.503
The best thing to do is
don't touch your face.

40:19.810 --> 40:21.190
Don't touch really anything

40:21.190 --> 40:23.410
until you've washed your
hands after you've come

40:23.410 --> 40:28.410
in contact with things that
might have some COVID on it.

40:28.640 --> 40:30.400
- So Doc, does hand sanitizer,

40:30.400 --> 40:31.760
what about hand sanitizer?

40:31.760 --> 40:33.950
We keep hearing about hand sanitizer.

40:33.950 --> 40:35.630
- So hand sanitizer works

40:35.630 --> 40:37.390
as long as it's got the alcohol in it.

40:37.390 --> 40:39.890
So the Purell has the,

40:39.890 --> 40:42.164
I've forgotten the exact percentage in it.

40:42.164 --> 40:44.720
If it's been sitting in
your car for two years

40:44.720 --> 40:46.690
and it's really runny like liquid,

40:46.690 --> 40:49.440
it probably doesn't have
the right amount of alcohol

40:49.440 --> 40:50.273
in it to kill it.

40:50.273 --> 40:52.060
But hand sanitizer does work.

40:52.060 --> 40:53.560
The best thing, though,

40:53.560 --> 40:57.350
is that the turbulence of
the water and the soap.

40:57.350 --> 41:00.940
And 20 seconds washing is key.

41:00.940 --> 41:04.260
So I remember my mom telling
me sing Happy Birthday

41:04.260 --> 41:07.321
to yourself twice, and
that's usually 20 seconds.

41:07.321 --> 41:11.630
So good handwashing with
just regular old soap,

41:11.630 --> 41:13.760
doesn't need to be antibacterial soap,

41:13.760 --> 41:14.983
it is the best way.

41:16.230 --> 41:17.160
- [Mike] Sir, have you heard anything

41:17.160 --> 41:20.920
about mass inoculation plans for April 12?

41:20.920 --> 41:23.300
- I have not.
- Me neither.

41:23.300 --> 41:26.550
- If I say April 12, I
would probably say 2021,

41:26.550 --> 41:29.247
because we are not going to have a vaccine

41:29.247 --> 41:33.080
in that time, we just aren't.

41:33.080 --> 41:37.280
There's probably 20 or
so really good candidates

41:37.280 --> 41:41.880
by governments and strongly
backed biopharmaceuticals

41:41.880 --> 41:43.510
that are working right now.

41:43.510 --> 41:47.040
You know, we could get something earlier.

41:47.040 --> 41:51.220
But I think most of the
CDC leaders, you know,

41:51.220 --> 41:56.010
Dr. Fauci, et cetera,
think don't count on it

41:56.010 --> 41:59.233
until the calendar turns to 2021.

42:00.430 --> 42:02.500
- [Mike] General Wilcox,
you talked briefly

42:02.500 --> 42:05.270
about our telework situation.

42:05.270 --> 42:08.410
This person's more concerned
about staying in contact

42:08.410 --> 42:10.500
on a human level with our teammates.

42:10.500 --> 42:12.540
For example, they're
worried about single folks

42:12.540 --> 42:14.510
feeling like they're on
an island during this time

42:14.510 --> 42:15.570
when they're teleworking.

42:15.570 --> 42:16.410
Can you address that?

42:16.410 --> 42:19.070
- Yeah, I can, Mike, and
that's a great concern.

42:19.070 --> 42:20.494
So thanks for having it.

42:20.494 --> 42:23.760
We've asked supervisors to call, you know,

42:23.760 --> 42:25.062
and check in on people.

42:25.062 --> 42:28.100
I've videochatted a few.

42:28.100 --> 42:29.680
One of my big concerns,

42:29.680 --> 42:33.010
and that I've put out
a couple of times now,

42:33.010 --> 42:35.180
that we're really focusing in on, also,

42:35.180 --> 42:37.139
are those deployed spouses.

42:37.139 --> 42:39.260
You know, there's a stop movement.

42:39.260 --> 42:41.910
So the next group that was
getting ready to deploy

42:41.910 --> 42:43.420
is not going to deploy now.

42:43.420 --> 42:45.090
Their spouses are loving life.

42:45.090 --> 42:47.470
They can help with the kids
and do everything else.

42:47.470 --> 42:49.680
But it's tough on the deployed spouses

42:49.680 --> 42:53.990
whose husbands and wives have
been deployed for six months

42:53.990 --> 42:57.390
and now are not going to come
home as originally scheduled.

42:57.390 --> 42:59.010
So we gotta think about those, too.

42:59.010 --> 43:01.840
So I've asked the team,
hey, pick up the phone.

43:01.840 --> 43:02.810
Let's go old school.

43:02.810 --> 43:04.730
Pick up the phone and give them a call.

43:04.730 --> 43:05.990
You know, FaceTime.

43:05.990 --> 43:07.710
It doesn't require VPN.

43:07.710 --> 43:10.780
VPN's getting a lot better
and it's a lot more stable,

43:10.780 --> 43:14.450
but FaceTime doesn't require that.

43:14.450 --> 43:17.944
FaceTime, you know, your teammate,

43:17.944 --> 43:19.660
call them during the day.

43:19.660 --> 43:22.160
Set up one of those video chats with them.

43:22.160 --> 43:23.940
Just ask them, you know.

43:23.940 --> 43:26.108
As I go through staff meetings, I ask,

43:26.108 --> 43:27.680
hey, how's your workforce doing?

43:27.680 --> 43:28.950
How's your section?

43:28.950 --> 43:30.970
How's your branch?

43:30.970 --> 43:33.300
So nothing precludes us.

43:33.300 --> 43:34.740
Shoot them a text.

43:34.740 --> 43:36.696
But it's always good to see them

43:36.696 --> 43:40.250
and see, hey, how are they looking today.

43:40.250 --> 43:44.029
Because as you go longer, it's tough.

43:44.029 --> 43:46.080
An introvert loves it, man.

43:46.080 --> 43:47.650
We're in like heaven, you know,

43:47.650 --> 43:50.210
'cause introvert's at
the house and the office.

43:50.210 --> 43:53.170
But an extrovert needs
to talk to somebody.

43:53.170 --> 43:54.280
They need to run into it.

43:54.280 --> 43:58.912
I'll tell you who else we
gotta watch is our spouses,

43:58.912 --> 44:01.390
because our spouses are at the house.

44:01.390 --> 44:04.420
If you got kids, now they're doing online.

44:04.420 --> 44:07.850
They're doing everything
that they used to do.

44:07.850 --> 44:11.500
And we're at home, they're
trying to keep the kids quiet,

44:11.500 --> 44:14.484
or we're at home and we're teleworking,

44:14.484 --> 44:18.450
and they're doing that
much more with that.

44:18.450 --> 44:22.210
So you gotta get up, walk
out, you know, help out.

44:22.210 --> 44:24.920
Help out when telework's
over in the evening.

44:24.920 --> 44:27.470
Take the kids on the weekend,
take them to the park,

44:27.470 --> 44:28.540
do things like that.

44:28.540 --> 44:30.420
We still gotta have that interaction.

44:30.420 --> 44:32.170
Supervisors still gotta have,

44:32.170 --> 44:35.190
we still need you do to those
calls and those checkups,

44:35.190 --> 44:38.960
because the workforce, you remain our key.

44:38.960 --> 44:41.870
And we gotta do everything
we can to keep you safe.

44:41.870 --> 44:44.630
So, you know, great question, Mike.

44:44.630 --> 44:45.680
- [Mike] Thank you, sir.

44:45.680 --> 44:48.010
Dr. DeGoes, are referrals
still being processed here

44:48.010 --> 44:50.320
in the San Antonio military
medical care community?

44:50.320 --> 44:52.490
- Yes, yeah, but by referrals,

44:52.490 --> 44:54.380
you mean like a consult to a specialist,

44:54.380 --> 44:56.840
the answer is absolutely yes.

44:56.840 --> 45:01.375
I spoke with our military network leader

45:01.375 --> 45:05.320
for Humana Military,
which manages the network

45:05.320 --> 45:08.206
when you need a specialty
that's not available

45:08.206 --> 45:11.203
within the standard time,

45:12.400 --> 45:15.753
or, you know, you wanna
see someone on the outside.

45:15.753 --> 45:20.753
And right now, you know, they
don't have any new shortages.

45:21.220 --> 45:23.560
But as you know, behavioral
health, mental health,

45:23.560 --> 45:25.600
has been short across the country.

45:25.600 --> 45:28.120
And it's not more short now,

45:28.120 --> 45:31.840
but the answer is yes, we're
still processing referrals,

45:31.840 --> 45:33.130
same as it ever was.

45:33.130 --> 45:36.210
If I could just jump in on General Wilcox.

45:36.210 --> 45:39.230
So what's unusual about
COVID is we're telling people

45:39.230 --> 45:42.410
to isolate, and it's the exact opposite

45:42.410 --> 45:43.810
of kind of what we've been trying to do

45:43.810 --> 45:45.750
with resilience, connectedness.

45:45.750 --> 45:48.983
So I think all of us, when
I talk with our medics is,

45:48.983 --> 45:52.450
let's, in trying to improve resilience,

45:52.450 --> 45:54.610
we know that we have kind
of a national problem

45:54.610 --> 45:57.420
with suicides and suicide prevention.

45:57.420 --> 46:00.170
And so we're trying to
increase connectedness,

46:00.170 --> 46:01.760
increase the wingman culture.

46:01.760 --> 46:03.720
And so we've got to adopt a little bit

46:03.720 --> 46:07.110
of a different wingman
culture in the time of COVID.

46:07.110 --> 46:10.850
And so, you know, being
creative of how you communicate

46:10.850 --> 46:12.368
with folks is key.

46:12.368 --> 46:13.201
- Right on.

46:14.220 --> 46:15.390
- [Mike] You talked about hygiene

46:15.390 --> 46:17.335
and other things people can do to prevent

46:17.335 --> 46:22.060
or ward off the spread of COVID-19.

46:22.060 --> 46:24.724
Is there anything someone
can do on a personal level

46:24.724 --> 46:28.510
concerning nutrition and their diet

46:28.510 --> 46:30.690
that can help prevent it,
for example, orange juice,

46:30.690 --> 46:32.980
or all the things we hear
about the cold and flu?

46:32.980 --> 46:35.837
- Yeah, so there isn't
any one specific thing

46:35.837 --> 46:38.340
that's going to be specific for COVID,

46:38.340 --> 46:40.830
like an anti-COVID vitamin.

46:40.830 --> 46:44.520
I check my spam folder
in my computer every day,

46:44.520 --> 46:45.600
I come home for email,

46:45.600 --> 46:47.440
and everybody's got something

46:47.440 --> 46:49.820
they want to get your money for for COVID.

46:49.820 --> 46:51.980
But there simply isn't.

46:51.980 --> 46:56.980
But what makes you healthier
and your immune system stronger

46:57.880 --> 47:00.840
to reduce colds is sleeping, you know,

47:00.840 --> 47:04.149
trying to get that seven
hours of sleep, good sleep.

47:04.149 --> 47:08.660
Eating well, a variety of
foods, foods with color,

47:08.660 --> 47:11.190
foods from the produce section,

47:11.190 --> 47:13.430
foods from the fruit section,

47:13.430 --> 47:15.490
little less processed foods.

47:15.490 --> 47:19.920
So a diverse diet and a
little bit of movement.

47:19.920 --> 47:22.220
You don't have to run as
much as your boss here,

47:22.220 --> 47:24.279
but movement and exercise,

47:24.279 --> 47:28.820
that actually boots your
immunity along with good sleep

47:28.820 --> 47:31.120
and good nutrition.

47:31.120 --> 47:33.160
So just a great question.

47:33.160 --> 47:34.780
- But like the connectedness, right,

47:34.780 --> 47:37.930
we gotta come up with new ways
to connect during this time.

47:37.930 --> 47:41.300
We also gotta come up, you
know, we're not as active.

47:41.300 --> 47:43.240
We're not walking the building.

47:43.240 --> 47:45.350
We're not walking around.

47:45.350 --> 47:49.270
We're in our house under
stay-at-home or safe,

47:49.270 --> 47:51.940
or whatever state you're in.

47:51.940 --> 47:55.435
So most of those states
and everything I've seen

47:55.435 --> 47:59.270
authorize to us to go
out and go for a walk

47:59.270 --> 48:01.810
or go to the parks, take the dog out,

48:01.810 --> 48:04.130
take the kids to the park, do something,

48:04.130 --> 48:07.024
but still keep getting that
movement and that exercise

48:07.024 --> 48:09.563
so we help stay healthy.

48:10.940 --> 48:12.740
- [Mike] Dr. DeGoes, speaking of outside,

48:12.740 --> 48:17.500
I've seen this discussed on
the news, the idea of weather.

48:17.500 --> 48:20.420
Is there any evidence that
weather impacts the spread

48:20.420 --> 48:23.340
or can inhibit the spread of COVID-19,

48:23.340 --> 48:26.170
such as warmer climates as
opposed to colder climates?

48:26.170 --> 48:28.510
- Yeah, so again, that's a great question.

48:28.510 --> 48:30.670
And I think Dr. Fauci at one time,

48:30.670 --> 48:33.950
the director of the NIH
Allergy and Infectious Disease

48:33.950 --> 48:36.189
said we all hoped that.

48:36.189 --> 48:38.720
But because COVID's
new, we're not certain.

48:38.720 --> 48:42.660
So COVID is a influenza-like virus.

48:42.660 --> 48:45.830
One of the characteristics
of the seasonal flu is

48:45.830 --> 48:48.669
in the northern hemisphere,
when it gets warmer,

48:48.669 --> 48:51.790
March, April, May,
depending on where you are,

48:51.790 --> 48:54.060
it tends to go into dormancy.

48:54.060 --> 48:57.240
We just don't know with this virus.

48:57.240 --> 49:02.240
And what makes me a little
concerned that it might not,

49:02.630 --> 49:03.990
still hoping that it will,

49:03.990 --> 49:05.910
is because in the southern hemisphere,

49:05.910 --> 49:09.980
so there's a significant
outbreak in South America,

49:09.980 --> 49:11.640
you know, which is their winter,

49:11.640 --> 49:14.660
in South Africa, in Australia.

49:14.660 --> 49:16.480
So some of the southern hemisphere.

49:16.480 --> 49:19.950
So excuse me, it's
their summer, I'm sorry.

49:19.950 --> 49:23.180
And so it's spreading there as well.

49:23.180 --> 49:26.030
Now granted, the cases that
went there were imported

49:26.030 --> 49:27.630
from other parts of the world.

49:27.630 --> 49:31.580
But they have set up shop
during the warmer months

49:31.580 --> 49:35.880
in the southern hemisphere right now.

49:35.880 --> 49:40.880
So I'm hoping that as
we get to summer here

49:41.340 --> 49:44.220
in the United States,
that it will reduce it.

49:44.220 --> 49:49.220
But it's really uncertain
because COVID-19 is so new.

49:53.230 --> 49:54.610
- [Mike] General Wilcox,
we've talked a lot

49:54.610 --> 49:57.210
about what we'd do, what we're doing,

49:57.210 --> 50:00.240
prevention, and how we're
taking care of our team.

50:00.240 --> 50:03.740
Can you speak to in addition
to those internal responses,

50:03.740 --> 50:06.040
we're doing things for
the Air Force at-large

50:06.040 --> 50:08.263
as AFMIC, aren't we?
- We are.

50:08.263 --> 50:09.380
- [Mike] Are there a couple
of examples you can provide

50:09.380 --> 50:11.010
of what our team is doing to help

50:11.010 --> 50:12.540
the Air Force COVID response?

50:12.540 --> 50:16.100
- I mean, I think we're still
100% performing our mission,

50:16.100 --> 50:19.450
which, you know, fuels 77 installations.

50:19.450 --> 50:21.338
We're still providing
all the infrastructure.

50:21.338 --> 50:23.690
We're still providing MWR.

50:23.690 --> 50:27.640
We're still providing
oversight of the facility

50:27.640 --> 50:31.170
and sustainment modernization,
MILCON projects.

50:31.170 --> 50:33.170
We're still providing UO&M.

50:33.170 --> 50:35.730
We're still providing all
the contracting support

50:35.730 --> 50:36.680
to the Air Force.

50:36.680 --> 50:39.960
So our mission hasn't stopped
or been reduced at all.

50:39.960 --> 50:42.670
I would say, in fact,
the mission has increased

50:42.670 --> 50:43.933
because we have baseline,

50:43.933 --> 50:47.423
but then we're doing the
COVID-19 type response.

50:48.560 --> 50:51.640
Over a week ago, the Honorable Ellen Lord,

50:51.640 --> 50:55.210
the Assistant Secretary
of Defense, you know,

50:55.210 --> 50:59.210
put out a defense infrastructure letter,

50:59.210 --> 51:02.140
defense health letter, that says,

51:02.140 --> 51:03.580
hey, everybody's mission-critical.

51:03.580 --> 51:05.130
Our missions are mission-critical.

51:05.130 --> 51:07.620
Weapon system procurement's
mission-critical.

51:07.620 --> 51:09.650
Everything we do is mission-critical.

51:09.650 --> 51:11.520
AFMC put out the same thing

51:11.520 --> 51:13.240
for those mission-essential functions

51:13.240 --> 51:14.760
and installation mission support,

51:14.760 --> 51:16.210
or one of those things.

51:16.210 --> 51:19.500
So we got a lot of contractors
right, contracting agents

51:19.500 --> 51:23.700
in the Air Force Installation
Contracting Center

51:23.700 --> 51:25.573
that are not only working day-to-day

51:25.573 --> 51:27.570
for the mission that we do today,

51:27.570 --> 51:32.570
but they're also now
transitioning over to help with

51:32.580 --> 51:36.450
on the medical side and
to help the task force

51:36.450 --> 51:39.390
that's being put together
to help take care of that.

51:39.390 --> 51:42.636
So you see this across
all our organizations.

51:42.636 --> 51:47.636
You know, the services center
continues to conduct MWR,

51:49.023 --> 51:52.880
childcare at the different
facilities, albeit reduced.

51:52.880 --> 51:54.950
But you have to do it in a different way,

51:54.950 --> 51:57.480
and they have to come up with
things in a different way.

51:57.480 --> 52:01.432
So a lot of the missions
that we do continue to go on.

52:01.432 --> 52:03.950
We're putting guidance out.

52:03.950 --> 52:06.464
Custodial contracts are being increased.

52:06.464 --> 52:09.512
How do you have that
custodial contract come in,

52:09.512 --> 52:13.990
respond if somebody had
a positive case of COVID?

52:13.990 --> 52:17.300
So we're working these
things with the installations

52:17.300 --> 52:18.570
as we continue to go.

52:18.570 --> 52:22.393
We had a mission support
conference, telecon yesterday

52:22.393 --> 52:26.430
that had probably 260
call-ins on Wednesday morning

52:26.430 --> 52:29.140
and afternoon so that we
could answer questions,

52:29.140 --> 52:31.240
push out how we're doing things.

52:31.240 --> 52:34.969
So a lot of great work by
the team to help combat

52:34.969 --> 52:38.400
the COVID-19 outbreak and the pandemic

52:38.400 --> 52:41.270
while we're doing our normal mission,

52:41.270 --> 52:43.840
while it's harder to do,

52:43.840 --> 52:47.640
because VPN and telework is challenging.

52:47.640 --> 52:49.970
I acknowledge that it's challenging.

52:49.970 --> 52:52.300
But you guys are getting the
job done every single day.

52:52.300 --> 52:56.120
So we're knee-deep in it and in support

52:56.120 --> 52:59.457
with the Space Force, the
Air Force, all the MAJCOMS,

52:59.457 --> 53:00.830
and all the installations.

53:00.830 --> 53:02.920
So thanks for what you do.

53:02.920 --> 53:04.500
- [Mike] We've got time
for just a few more,

53:04.500 --> 53:05.670
and then we'll give you each a chance,

53:05.670 --> 53:07.331
if there's something we didn't address

53:07.331 --> 53:10.350
that you wanted to talk
about, we'll close with that.

53:10.350 --> 53:12.360
Just a few more for Dr. DeGoes.

53:12.360 --> 53:15.100
I think this goes across
our enterprise as well,

53:15.100 --> 53:17.250
and I don't know that you
have a crystal ball for this.

53:17.250 --> 53:20.230
But when do you expect or
anticipate face-to-face

53:20.230 --> 53:23.000
routine appointments to begin again?

53:23.000 --> 53:24.580
And what is that based on?

53:24.580 --> 53:28.060
- Sure, I think it's going to be based on

53:28.060 --> 53:32.110
when we think that the risk
is lower to our patients

53:32.110 --> 53:34.150
and to our staff.

53:34.150 --> 53:38.490
And so I think we would have
to see some sustained drop

53:38.490 --> 53:42.447
in person-to-person
transmission in communities.

53:42.447 --> 53:44.990
And so it's really hard to predict that.

53:44.990 --> 53:47.870
Maybe the weather will kinda cause a lull

53:47.870 --> 53:51.777
and we'll be able to go back
to more operations normal,

53:51.777 --> 53:55.050
you know, in whatever aspect of your life,

53:55.050 --> 53:56.940
and to include healthcare,

53:56.940 --> 54:00.363
and then kind of reassess in the fall.

54:01.410 --> 54:04.290
So it's hard to predict exactly.

54:04.290 --> 54:08.670
But as soon as we possibly
can do it, we will.

54:08.670 --> 54:09.830
Great question.

54:09.830 --> 54:11.980
- [Mike] I think General Wilcox,
you addressed this earlier

54:11.980 --> 54:16.100
that we have a orderly
return-to-work plan we're working,

54:16.100 --> 54:18.340
but what would be some
triggers that you're hearing

54:18.340 --> 54:21.870
from your leadership at
AFMC and the Air Force.

54:21.870 --> 54:24.240
Is there discussion about
what those triggers would be?

54:24.240 --> 54:25.410
- Well, they are taking a look at it.

54:25.410 --> 54:29.310
I think a lot of it
would, the doc just said,

54:29.310 --> 54:31.778
you know, applies to
transitioning back to normal life,

54:31.778 --> 54:35.230
just not medical, but everything.

54:35.230 --> 54:36.899
I mean, as I stated earlier,

54:36.899 --> 54:40.359
there's a close partnership
with the medical community

54:40.359 --> 54:44.050
on how, what our posture's going to be,

54:44.050 --> 54:45.600
and how we're going to return to work.

54:45.600 --> 54:47.150
We're not going to rush back.

54:47.150 --> 54:49.920
I mean, as long as we get
the mission done on telework,

54:49.920 --> 54:51.840
which we're doing every single day,

54:51.840 --> 54:54.400
then the plan is not
to call everybody back

54:54.400 --> 54:56.060
into the building next week

54:57.318 --> 54:59.080
while we're still rolling through this.

54:59.080 --> 55:03.240
Nationally, we have the health
protection condition system.

55:03.240 --> 55:05.740
So nationally, the
Secretary of the Air Force

55:05.740 --> 55:08.572
put us all in Charlie across the board.

55:08.572 --> 55:11.250
So I think just like, you know,

55:11.250 --> 55:14.430
for protection of the installation,

55:14.430 --> 55:17.010
you see force protection
conditions ramp down,

55:17.010 --> 55:19.330
you'll have to see those
health protection conditions

55:19.330 --> 55:22.510
ramp down, which are based
on these different factors

55:22.510 --> 55:23.680
that are out there,

55:23.680 --> 55:25.170
you know, while still taking care of

55:25.170 --> 55:26.470
the higher risk personnel,

55:26.470 --> 55:29.095
you know, while still
being able to take care

55:29.095 --> 55:31.360
of those single,

55:31.360 --> 55:35.180
single-family, single
person families, you know,

55:35.180 --> 55:36.170
who have to take kids.

55:36.170 --> 55:38.500
We haven't talked a lot about kids.

55:38.500 --> 55:40.450
You know, I think I'm going
to ask the doc here at the end

55:40.450 --> 55:43.700
how kids are faring under CV-19.

55:43.700 --> 55:44.840
You don't hear a lot about them.

55:44.840 --> 55:47.260
I think they must be
doing a little bit better.

55:47.260 --> 55:51.059
But, you know, it'll be a concerted effort

55:51.059 --> 55:54.500
with discussion and back and forth

55:54.500 --> 55:57.330
with the medical community
and all the experts

55:57.330 --> 55:59.240
before you see us all rolling back

55:59.240 --> 56:01.190
into Building One full blast.

56:01.190 --> 56:04.130
Just like we eased out of Building One

56:04.130 --> 56:07.535
with different teams on primary teams,

56:07.535 --> 56:09.750
you know, reporting in,

56:09.750 --> 56:12.410
you know, I think we'll
have an orderly fashion

56:12.410 --> 56:14.270
where we start coming back to work

56:14.270 --> 56:16.620
based upon the effects on the ground

56:16.620 --> 56:19.660
at your specific location at that time.

56:19.660 --> 56:23.180
- Yeah, so for children, unlike, you know,

56:23.180 --> 56:25.970
seasonal influenza, which the very young

56:25.970 --> 56:29.040
and the very old are where
the most severe cases are,

56:29.040 --> 56:32.160
most of the hospitalizations,
and unfortunately the deaths,

56:32.160 --> 56:36.000
with COVID, it's very
rare in people under 20

56:36.000 --> 56:38.150
that they have significant disease.

56:38.150 --> 56:40.477
You hear about a case here or there,

56:40.477 --> 56:43.910
but exceeding rare.

56:43.910 --> 56:45.760
So that's one of the silver linings

56:45.760 --> 56:49.320
is our children are safer from COVID,

56:49.320 --> 56:52.310
and most of the severe is in people

56:52.310 --> 56:54.440
that have an underlying medical condition

56:54.440 --> 56:57.200
of whatever age that
affects their immune system,

56:57.200 --> 56:59.010
or the very old.

56:59.010 --> 57:00.740
So that is a good thing about COVID,

57:00.740 --> 57:02.980
if there is any.

57:02.980 --> 57:04.460
- [Mike] Yes, sir, while
you have the floor,

57:04.460 --> 57:06.210
we've got about three minutes left.

57:06.210 --> 57:08.380
Anything you want to address
that we haven't touched on?

57:08.380 --> 57:11.548
- Sure, so again, we're
in a balancing act.

57:11.548 --> 57:15.090
Docs, we recommend, commanders decide.

57:15.090 --> 57:17.610
And depending on how
important the mission is,

57:17.610 --> 57:19.780
we might have to take
a little bit of risk.

57:19.780 --> 57:22.940
But when the risk isn't really high,

57:22.940 --> 57:26.070
then we're going to try to keep
us all as safe as possible.

57:26.070 --> 57:28.220
And so it's all those
things we talked about.

57:28.220 --> 57:31.447
Use the CDC's self-assessment tool,

57:31.447 --> 57:34.736
call and ask questions
if you're uncertain,

57:34.736 --> 57:37.100
follow that CDC guidelines,

57:37.100 --> 57:40.410
and you will keep yourself, the mission,

57:40.410 --> 57:43.380
your families, and the communities
that you live in safer.

57:43.380 --> 57:45.510
Thanks for all you do for our nation

57:45.510 --> 57:47.967
and the United States Air Force.

57:47.967 --> 57:51.833
- Hey team, I hope this
has been beneficial to you.

57:51.833 --> 57:54.510
If there's, let us know.

57:54.510 --> 57:57.450
Like it if, you know,
put some comments down.

57:57.450 --> 58:00.180
If there's somebody
else that you'd like us

58:00.180 --> 58:02.720
to take a field trip with
or bring in to one of these

58:02.720 --> 58:06.040
in the future, we'll absolutely do it.

58:06.040 --> 58:09.750
I wanna say thanks to the
team for being innovative

58:09.750 --> 58:12.010
and coming up with new ways to do it.

58:12.010 --> 58:13.790
Thanks for getting the mission done

58:13.790 --> 58:17.240
when the technology might not be 100%

58:17.240 --> 58:19.270
to what it is in the building.

58:19.270 --> 58:20.460
I mean, even in the building,

58:20.460 --> 58:22.460
don't forget we fight
the blue circle of death

58:22.460 --> 58:23.490
all the time, right?

58:23.490 --> 58:25.840
So now we fight the VPN a little bit.

58:25.840 --> 58:26.870
But it's getting better.

58:26.870 --> 58:30.040
And the Air Force is moving
in the right direction.

58:30.040 --> 58:31.840
DoD's moving in the right direction.

58:31.840 --> 58:33.690
We're moving in the right direction

58:33.690 --> 58:37.100
and coming up with new ways
of doing things all the time.

58:37.100 --> 58:39.600
It's Friday, we're
rolling into the weekend.

58:39.600 --> 58:41.300
It's been a busy two weeks.

58:41.300 --> 58:45.710
I can't stress the
importance of your resiliency

58:45.710 --> 58:48.610
and your health to us
getting the mission done.

58:48.610 --> 58:50.760
Call your coworkers.

58:50.760 --> 58:53.068
Get out of the house and go for a walk.

58:53.068 --> 58:57.700
Don't pile into the mall
or go wait with a big group

58:57.700 --> 59:00.540
of people anywhere, but get out and about

59:00.540 --> 59:02.380
and take some time for yourself.

59:02.380 --> 59:05.970
Exercise, eat well, take care of the team.

59:05.970 --> 59:08.470
Continue the great communication flow.

59:08.470 --> 59:13.120
I mean, you can send us
questions any time, through PA,

59:13.120 --> 59:15.140
post it on the Facebook site.

59:15.140 --> 59:17.300
You've probably seen it,
I've sent out more emails,

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I'm posting more on Facebook.

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That's because we don't
see each other every day

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and I don't get the benefit
of walking through your bay,

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you know, or your det
commander's not walking through

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the office, or your PSU
commander's not walking around

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saying, hey, how are you doing?

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So I start off that a lot of times.

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Be resilient, take care of your family,

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take care of yourself,

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and I know you'll take
care of the mission.

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Thanks, Atlas Nation.

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You guys have a super weekend,

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and we'll see you next week.

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General Wilcox out.